brass liberation orchestra

BLO Gig Rider

Hi! Thanks for requesting us to play at your event! Here are some things to know about how we operate and what our needs are, to minimize confusion and maximize awesomeness! Please keep in mind that the Brass Liberation Orchestra is a political project as much as it is a brass band, and therefore we have a lot of process, cuz we keep it real.

Gig Approval

  • When you submit a request, everyone in the band is notified.
  • Our meetings are usually on Sunday, so likely your event will be discussed the first Sunday after you make the request.
  • It's best if we have at least two weeks lead time in order ensure we have enough time to gather all the info about the gig, approve it, work out scheduling, ensure we've got all the parts covered, etc. We've been known to do gigs last minute, but only the extra-awesome ones.
  • Whether we approve the gig or not, someone will notify you with our decision (unless maybe you request us to play super-last-minute).
  • If you want us to learn a song for your flash mob or whatever, we need at least 6-8 weeks lead time to learn a new tune and coordinate.

Band Leadership

  • The BLO does not have a leader. For your event there will be one "tactical coordinator" for the band. This person will most likely be the one contacting you to finalize logistics. During the event, all communication with the band should be directed to the tactical coordinator.
  • Note: The tactical coordinator of the band is often NOT the tallest, loudest, white-est, male-est member of the band!
  • Please have a single point of communication for our tactical coordinator. It is not uncommon for us to have several different organizers giving us different instructions ("Play!" "Don't Play") - this is very frustrating!
  • We can be extremely flexible and adapt to changing situations quite well, but this works best when there is very clear communication with our tactical coordinator.
  • We will make tactical decisions for our band, but not for your event. If you want to have a break-away march, you need to lead it. We can roll with being spontaneous in certain situations, but we only want to be responsible for ourselves.

How to help us make your event more awesome

  • Please make sure we have at least one solid block of 20 minutes of playing, and at least 30 minutes total. This maximizes our energy and effectiveness. If at all possible, we much prefer to consolidate our playing time so we aren't waiting between sets.
  • We generally don't do well at the very front of marches - it's a great visual, but we march slow and it means we are playing to empty space. We'd rather play to people! Put us somewhere inside of the march.
  • If you have any chants prepared, please try to get us those ahead of time and we can figure out how we can integrate them with our music. If you don't have any chants, make some! We can help!
  • Every photographer/videographer wants that awesome shot where they sit in the street while the band walks around them. Every musician would rather concentrate on playing awesome music and not worry about tripping over someone sitting in the middle of the street. :) Please don't do that :)
  • Have a sound truck pumping the jams? That's awesome! We cannot compete with it. So, please keep us a few blocks away from it.

Things we love

  • Chant leaders with megaphones
  • Water, and to a lesser degree, snacks
  • People dancing to our music!

If you have any questions or confusion about anything mentioned above, feel free to ask about it when someone from the band contacts you! Every situation is different, so let's be flexible together! Now, fill out a gig request!